14 changes to make in your 30s that will set you up for lifelong success

Sam Walton founded Walmart at age 44; Julia Child published her first cookbook at 60. Your best years may be way ahead of you.

It’ll depend a little on luck and a lot on how you behave in the next decade or so – i.e. not procrastinating, overspending, and wallowing in self-pity.

Over on Quora, hundreds of people have shared the best ways to spend your 30s in order to lay the foundation for success and fulfillment later on. We sifted through those threads and rounded up 14 compelling responses.

Read on for the small lifestyle tweaks that will pave the way for big life achievements.

2. Start going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day

It might be tempting to use the weekends to recoup your sleep debt, but Nan Waldman recommends you hit the hay and wake up around the same time every single day.

If you oversleep for even a few days, experts say you risk resetting your body clock to a different cycle, so you’ll start getting tired later in the day. Avoid a lifetime of sleep issues by sticking to bedtime and wake-up routines whenever you can.

6. Start pursuing a life dream

“Don’t delay pursuing your life goals,” writes Bill Karwin. “Want to buy a house? Have kids? Write a book? … Pick one of those life goals and get started. What can you do between now and the end of the year to embark on one of them?”

8. Stop thinking you need to satisfy everyone

“After I reached 30, I stopped feeling the need to please everyone. You can choose your friends and contacts more carefully,” says Kevin Teo. In particular, Teo realized he wasn’t obligated to be nice to people who were unfriendly toward him.

Whether you decide to whittle down your Facebook friends to a mere 500 or simply hang out more with the people who make you happy, it’s important to invest your time and energy wisely.

9. Stop comparing yourself to others

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“If you are unable to do some things in life compared to your siblings and friends, then please be at peace with yourself,” advises Mahesh Kaytian. “Don’t be harsh on yourself.”

Science suggests that comparing yourself to other people – which isn’t so hard to do when your Facebook feed is filled with photos of vacations and engagements – can be unproductive. That’s largely because people can seem a lot happier and less troubled than they really are.

11. Start defining your values

“The number one priority at this stage is getting clarity on what your priorities actually are!

“A great way to do this is to define your personal values, getting to a list of your top three is ideal. Then ask yourself if these values are really reflected in your career and your lifestyle today. If not, you can go about setting goals that are aligned with those values, and then creating an action plan to achieve those goals.”

13. Start decluttering

“Living a minimalist life makes everything better,” writes Cindy Ah Kioon. “There is more space in your house and this makes it look more visually pleasing … Cleaning is faster and easier.”

If you’re looking to start de-cluttering, there’s a whole movement to support you, inspired by Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” The process starts with a tidying “marathon,” in which you keep only those items that “spark joy” – and get rid of everything else.

As Business Insider’s Erin Brodwin has reported, clutter can be a source of stress for some individuals and families. Then again, people tend to be more creative in messy environments – so if you aren’t feeling motivated to re-organize your entire office space, that’s probably okay, too.